2 US citizens arrested for smuggling horse trailer full of migrants into Arizona
Oct 5, 2022, 11:00 AM | Updated: 11:24 am
(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Two U.S. citizens were arrested in southern Arizona last week after more than 33 migrants were found inside of a horse trailer, authorities said.
The suspect drivers face charges of human smuggling and possession of firearms, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a press release.
The incident happened in Nogales on Sept. 29, when Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Tucson Sector agents conducted a traffic stop on a Ford pickup truck pulling the trailer around 2 a.m.
Agents discovered the migrants shoulder-to-shoulder inside the trailer, $16,000 in cash and loaded firearms inside two vehicles involved in the traffic stop, the release said.
The driver of the Ford, and a driver of a Dodge pickup truck that was encountered at the scene, were believed to be driving in tandem.
The migrants were arrested and are being processed for immigration violations.
